Forest Fires

Forest fires result in what often looks like destruction – burned and blackened trees, charred ground, powdery ashes, hazy air, and the skeletons of little shrubs. However, fires are a transformative process within ecosystems. Healthy forests burn with regularity, which keeps debris and brush to a minimum, infuses nutrients into the soil, and reduces invasive species. Ecosystems are in a constant process of change. When change is stopped (usually by people), the system can get out of balance (and this is usually when we see the very severe fires).

While I was doing research on the effects of wildfires within a national park, I had many casual conversations with park visitors who commented on how awful the fires were and how they ruined the beautiful forests. From a snapshot in time – visiting the park for a weekend or a few weeks – the burned forests did look decimated in comparison to the lush forests of evergreens and aspens. Although fires are destructive during the process of burning, it is actually in the death generated by fires that conditions for new growth are created. The burned leaves all broken and incinerated are in the silent process of releasing carbon and other nutrients into the soil for the flowers to grow the following spring. Undergrowth is cleared, leaving many opportunities for the forest floor to begin again. With a longer frame of time (years), it was evident that the forest was transforming and renewing itself.

Like a destructive raging wildfire roaring through a forest, events can rip the rug out from under us. Our life may look in shambles, without direction, but following these upheavals is often when we are most receptive to growth. Our old ways of functioning may not work any longer. Our perspective or framework can shift to a larger picture and sheds the dead parts that no longer serve us.  When what our ego held onto so tightly is reveled to be inadequate, we are forced to look deeper and search out for the things that are still true. As in a forest after fire, our lives can be ripe for transformation.